HOCKEY: Hockey Australia has announced the Hockeyroos and Kookaburras squads for this month’s Oceania Cup continental championships in New Zealand.
The two squads were selected following the conclusion of the Australian Hockey League (AHL) events in Sydney and Darwin on Friday.
Hockeyroos Head Coach Adam Commens and selectors have named a squad brimming with technical ability, including the three young athletes that made their senior international debuts against Korea in Perth last month.
Queenslanders Madison Fitzpatrick and Stephanie Kershaw, and Victorian Laura Barden all debuted in the September series and featured in Friday’s women’s AHL grand final between Queensland Scorchers and Victorian Vipers.
The Kookaburras will hand a senior international debut to 20 year-old Tasmanian Josh Beltz and welcome back Glenn Turner [pectoral], Tom Craig [hip] and Joel Carroll [hamstring] from injury.
Captain Mark Knowles missed the 2013 tournament through injury, acting instead as assistant coach to Graham Reid that year. Knowles will lead the Kookaburras on the field in Stratford and is joined in the squad by experienced teammates Jamie Dwyer, Eddie Ockenden, Fergus Kavanagh and Chris Ciriello.
In all, 11 members of the Kookaburras’ World Cup winning squad will make the trip.
New South Wales forward Blake Govers is one of five players under the age of 22 included. The 19 year-old was top goal scorer at the AHL with ten goals and won the Best Young Player and Top Scorer awards at the World League Semi-Final tournament in Antwerp in July.
Goalkeeper Andrew Charter and defender Joel Carroll are in line to make their 100th appearances for the Kookaburras. Both enter the competition on 98 games.
Senior Assistant Coach Paul Gaudoin will lead the Kookaburras at the Oceania Cup. He said the mix of experienced senior athletes with a youthful front line is exciting for the future of Australian hockey.
“This is a strong squad. I like the youth in our forward line – the likes of Blake Govers, Flynn Ogilvie and Tom Craig. We’re giving them an opportunity to step up and push for selection for a major championships. If we don’t give them these opportunities now it’s hard to know how they’ll cope with something like the Olympic Games,” he said.
“It’s no different to what we would normally do outside of a World Cup or Olympic Games. We’re still developing as a group and building for sustained success.
“Josh Beltz is someone we identified last year after he had a tremendous AHL and performed well in our national junior program. We’ve been really impressed with his progression, he’s certainly a long term prospect who warrants the opportunity to play for inclusion in our Olympic training squad next year.”
The Kookaburras will open their Oceania Cup campaign against Samoa before taking on New Zealand’s Black Sticks and Fiji. All pool matches will be live streamed by Hockey New Zealand.
The Hockeyroos squad comprises 14 of those that earned Australia’s women Olympic qualification with a third place finish at the World League Semi-Final tournament in Antwerp. The youthful group includes seven players under the age of 22.
One of the more experienced members of the group, defender Jodie Kenny is in line to make her 150th appearance in the final game of the Hockeyroos’ tournament.
“We feel this is our strongest team at the moment on form. Those players we’ve selected have performed well at the AHL and in the Korean series and national camp previously,” said Adam Commens, Hockeyroos coach.
“The Oceania Cup is a really important tournament for us. It’s a continuation of our preparation for next year’s Olympic Games and there are vital world ranking points at stake.
“We will field a young midfield with Brooke Peris, Jane Claxton and Mariah Williams all naturally quick athletes with the pace to combat New Zealand’s speed.
“Madonna Blyth, Karri McMahon and Eddie Bone will play in more defensive midfield roles in what we see as a strong combination.”
The Hockeyroos will face New Zealand’s Black Sticks in their opening encounter before taking on Samoa and Fiji. All pool matches will be live streamed by Hockey New Zealand.
Hockeyroos Squad for Oceania Cup
21-25 October 2015
Laura Barden (Kew, VIC)
Madonna Blyth (Brisbane, QLD)
Edwina Bone (Evatt, ACT)
Jane Claxton (Adelaide, SA)
Kirstin Dwyer (Mackay, QLD)
Madison Fitzpatrick (Cabarita Beach, NSW)*
Anna Flanagan (Canberra, ACT)
Jodie Kenny (Wamuran, QLD)
Stephanie Kershaw (Townsville, QLD)
Rachael Lynch (Warrandyte, VIC)
Karri McMahon (Berri, SA)
Georgina Morgan (Armidale, NSW)
Ashleigh Nelson (Wagin, WA)
Brooke Peris (Darwin, NT)
Kathryn Slattery (South Stirling, WA)
Emily Smith (Crookwell, NSW)
Ashlee Wells (Moe, VIC)
Mariah Williams (Parkes, NSW)
*Madison Fitzpatrick is a scholarship holder at the Queensland Academy of Sport.
Hockeyroos’ Oceania Cup Fixtures
21 October: Hockeyroos v New Zealand (15:30 AEDT)
22 October: Hockeyroos v Samoa (11:30 AEDT)
24 October: Hockeyroos v Fiji (06:00 AEDT)
25 October: Medal Matches – Gold Medal (11:45 AEDT) / Bronze Medal (07:15 AEDT)
Kookaburras Squad for Oceania Cup
21-25 October 2015
Joshua Beltz (Hobart, TAS)
Joel Carroll (Darwin, NT)
Andrew Charter (Canberra, ACT)
Chris Ciriello (Melbourne, VIC)
Tom Craig (Lane Cove, NSW)
Matthew Dawson (Central Coast, NSW)
Tim Deavin (Launceston, TAS)
Jamie Dwyer (Rockhampton, QLD)
Matt Gohdes (Rockhampton, QLD)
Blake Govers (Wollongong, NSW)
Fergus Kavanagh (Geraldton, WA)
Mark Knowles (Rockhampton, QLD)
Tyler Lovell (Perth, WA)
Trent Mitton (Perth, WA)
Eddie Ockenden (Hobart, TAS)
Flynn Ogilvie (Wollongong, NSW)
Glenn Turner (Goulburn, NSW)
Aran Zalewski (Margaret River, WA)
Kookaburras’ Oceania Cup Fixtures
21 October: Kookaburras v Samoa (09:30 AEDT)
22 October: Kookaburras v New Zealand (17:30 AEDT)
24 October: Kookaburras v Fiji (08:00 AEDT)
25 October: Medal Matches – Gold Medal (14:00 AEDT) / Bronze Medal (09:30 AEDT)
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